Programme And Module Handbook
 
Programme Specification


Date Specification Approved 02/07/2018
College College Social Sciences
School School of Social Policy
Department Soc Policy, Sociology & Crimin
Partner College and School
Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title B.A. Sociology and Criminology with Year Abroad Full-time
Programme Code 001D
Delivery Location Campus
Language of Study English
Length of Programme 4 Year(s)
Accreditations This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme Sociology offers a core social science perspective which can both enhance – and draw on – insights from Criminology. Sociology’s theoretically-driven, macro focus on social structures, institutions and group actors offers a way of locating applied criminological topics in their social context. In addition, the ‘micro’ aspects of the sociological tradition (a distinctive feature of the Birmingham offer) have been a longstanding influence upon empirical criminological research. Criminology is the study of ‘crime’, its causes, as well as providing ways to understand social responses to crime. It offers distinctive insights into the nature of social deviance, ‘harm’ and ‘control’ that challenge and energise traditional sociological approaches to topics such as stratification, integration, conflict and inequality. Therefore students will have an exciting opportunity to develop not just an understanding of both fields of study in their own right, but also, perhaps more crucially, an understanding of the inter-relationships and conflicts between the forms of knowledge generated by these respective fields. The programme will be designed to meet the following learning objectives:
- An understanding of theoretical approaches in both fields which offer insights into the nature of contemporary forms of deviance, control and social harm. In relation to criminology, this entails theories that seek to explain the causes of crime and responses to crime and deviance. In terms of Sociology, to consider theories of stratification, integration, conflict and inequality.

- An understanding of how the experience of deviance, control and social harms are socially patterned.

- An understanding of the construction and representation of deviance, control and social harms, and of responses to these in policymaking, mass/social media and public opinion.

- An understanding of how the extent and experience of deviance, control and social harms vary comparatively, particularly as a consequence of different societal forms.

- An understanding of the basic principles of social research as applicable to the study of deviance, control and social harms, as well as the strengths, weaknesses and uses of specific sources of data and research methods.
Programme Outcomes
Students are expected to have Knowledge and Understanding of: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
The character of Sociology as a discipline that is both theoretically informed and evidence based
The major sociological traditions and perspectives and critical responses to them
The method of critical comparative analysis
The analytical issues of the relationship between individuals, groups and institutions and the processes that underpin stability and change
The substantive issues of the origins and consequences of social diversity, divisions and inequalities, especially as they relate to ethnicity, gender and class
The nature and appropriate use of research strategies and methods in sociological research
Key concepts and theories that explain the causes and societal responses to crime;
The applications of key concepts and theories to the study of a range of social problems and social harms;
The development of both welfare and criminal justice institutions in the UK and a comparative context, as well as the inter-relationships between these systems, as mechanisms to respond to social problems and social harms;
How different social groups and individuals experience social problems and social harms, as well as the policies and regulatory responses that are purported to alleviate or ameliorate these issues;
The construction and representation of social problems and social harms, and of responses to these in policy making, mass/social media and public opinion;
How the extent and experience of social problems and social harms vary comparatively, particularly as a consequence of different welfare and criminal justice regimes
Lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, presentations, student-led discussion groups, group project work
Essays at all stages, unseen examinations at all stages, reviews and reports at all stages, individual and group projects, literature review at stages 2 and 3
Students are expected to have attained the following Skills and other Attributes: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
The ability to work individually and in groups
The ability to work flexibly and creatively, demonstrating independence and reflexivity
The ability to source, summarise, and critically engage with the existing theoretical and empirical material on a subject and deploy this, where appropriate, in constructing arguments.
The ability to formulate research questions, select appropriate research tools, recognise ethical issues and collect and interpret data
The ability to work to a given length, format, brief and deadline, properly referencing sources and ideas and making use, as appropriate, of a problem solving approach
Presentation skills and audience awareness
Team based working
Writing skills, essays, reports, briefing papers
Oral communication skills
Working with data
Working with data
Reflecting on their own learning
Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of disciplines and apply it to particular social problems and social harms
Essays at all stages, project work at all stages, oral presentation on project reports at stages 2 and 3, examinations.
Essays, unseen examinations, reports, individual presentations, group presentations, literature reviews, research outline, research project, dissertation, learning diaries, self-evaluation reports